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The Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline must decide whether a former Superior Court judge will lose his $81,000 annual pension because he was convicted of a $440,000 insurance fraud for which he's serving 46 months in federal prison.

The former judge, 62-year-old Michael Joyce, of Erie County, did not attend Tuesday's hearing in Harrisburg before the court which deferred ruling on the issue.

Joyce was convicted in 2008 of defrauding two insurance companies by exaggerating injuries from a low-speed auto accident in August 2001. He was also required to forfeit some items he spent that money on, including his home.

The Erie Times-News says the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System ruled in 2009 that Joyce could keep his pension, but the Judicial Conduct Board forced the issue by bringing it before the disciplinary court.